It’s hard to believe it’s been 5 years. In some ways it seems like she was born yesterday and in some ways, it seems like an eternity.

Olivia is an amazing little lady. She LOVES LIFE. Is happy, cheerful. Loves to sing and dance, ride her bike and scooter. She loves being outside!

Olivia is now fully swimming without any floatation device – as long as she can touch the bottom. We’re working on her fears to build up her confidence. She takes swim lessons three times a week at our pool club. She’s also taking tennis lessons!

She has just over another month until she starts KINDERGARTEN! She is more than ready to go.

This time of year makes me reflect back to the night of her birth and how absolutely terrified we were. Tonight as I tucked her into bed I thanked her for being the bravest little girl in the entire world – and for fighting those “booboo’s” better than we could have ever imagined.

We love you Olivia – with all our hearts and souls. Thank you for making our family complete. Here’s to 100 more years!

Since I posted the link for the Huskython article, I wanted to post a quick update on everything.

The girls are doing well. We seem to have a stomach bug moving through the house. Olivia got sick on Saturday evening. It was a “one and done” deal. Maddie got sick this evening. We’re hoping it’s another “one and done”.

We’re gearing up for summer already! We found someone to nanny the girls this summer! She’s from town and used to lifeguard at the camp in town. With the nanny they’ll be able to spend the entire summer at the pool club. We think the lack of a structured schedule will do Maddie some good. Maddie will go to camp the last week of the summer as the nanny is heading off to grad school in the fall. We are all VERY excited to see how this works out. The girls are thrilled because they LOVE the person we chose.

25 days until our Make A Wish trip. It seems like it took forever to get here but now it’s coming up very quickly.

Today marks the one year anniversary of Olivia’s fontan. We are celebrating by Olivia having cupcakes with her friends at school and depending on scheduling we’ll be taking her out to dinner. She requested Outback as she LOVES their green beans.

In honor of this special day, I sent this to CCMC’s website (there’s a “contact us” link), Dr. Heller, Dr. Friedman, and Dr. Mello.

A year ago there was a little girl who was three. She was very limited in her activities. She couldn’t walk up the driveway. A flight of stairs would leave her winded. Blue lips, purple fingers and toes were the norm.

March 24, 2008 changed all that. That was the day of Olivia Belfonti’s Fontan (heart surgery) at CT Children’s Medical Center. Within two weeks she was running UP the driveway. She could sprint 3/4 of a mile. She runs down the driveway, arms extended and says “I can FLY!” while her blonde hair flies behind her.

The little girl who was limited now takes swim lessons and attends gymnastics class. She has boundless energy. She bounces and twirls around the house nonstop to the point that we actually ask her to stop jumping. And then we laugh and rejoice that she CAN jump and twirl.

If you are reading this, you are to thank for all of this. You gave us this amazing child and saved her three times. You’ve allowed us to be a complete family. One who will never take anything for granted.

Today marks the 5th anniversary of Olivia’s diagnosis. While the anniversary has turned into a day of celebrations instead of tears, it’s still been a week of emotions for me.

I’m SO thankful that she’s doing well. I’m thankful for every giggle and every moment she acts like a drama queen. I’m thankful for her cuddles, snuggles and kisses. I’m thankful for all the good news we get when going to her preschool “parent / teacher conferences”. I’m even thankful for the many many moments where she and Maddie are fighting.

When the bad memories creep in, I remind myself of all the good. All the moments that most people take for granted we instead catch our breath. When I ask her to stop jumping in the kitchen – there’s a moment where I stop and am thankful that she’s able to jump.

February 21/22 was Huskython 2009. We had the pleasure of being invited again this year. However, this year we learned our lesson and booked a room at the Nathan Hale Inn on campus so we could come back the morning of the 22nd.

For our new readers – Huskthon is an annual dance a thon that is sponsored by the students of the University Of CT (UCONN). Last year they raised $56K that was donated to CT Children’s Medical Center. They dance from 6pm until 12noon the next day – no sitting or anything!

When we walked into the actual field house there was a group of students lined up on either side of the door and they were cheering as we walked through. Try NOT to cry – it was a very emotional moment.

We were sponsored again by Delta Gamma. They are a GREAT group of ladies and it was a pleasure spending time with them again. They had 40 dancers this year and they raised over $8K themselves.

It was great watching my girls have such a fun time with everyone. They are already talking about next year’s event! And the best part was when they announced the total for the event… Over $100K